What is Energy?

Energy is what makes things happen! It’s the ability to do work or cause change. Energy comes in many forms, and it can change from one form to another.

Main Types of Energy

• Kinetic energy: Energy of movement. A rolling ball or a running dog has kinetic energy.
• Potential energy: Stored energy. A stretched rubber band or water at the top of a slide has potential energy.
• Thermal energy: Energy from heat. Rubbing your hands together warms them up.
• Light energy: Comes from the sun or light bulbs.
• Sound energy: Produced by vibrating objects, like a guitar string.

Changing Forms

When you drop a basketball, its potential energy changes to kinetic energy as it falls.

Real-World Uses

• Solar panels change light energy from the sun into electricity.
• Food gives your body chemical energy to run, jump, and think.

Learning about energy helps us use it wisely and invent new ways to power our world!